Aly Raisman’s big day at the Olympics

Aly Raisman, the U.S. women's gymnastics captain, won gold in the floor exercise on Tuesday at the London Olympics, about an hour after getting a bronze on balance beam. Add in her gold with the Fierce Five in the team competition, and the Needham, Mass., resident leaves London with three medals, most of any of her teammates. Click through to see photos of her big day at the Olympics.
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Silver medalist Catalina Ponor of Romania (right), 18-year-old gold medalist Raisman, and bronze medalist Aliya Mustafina of Russia (left) posed on the podium during the medal ceremony for the floor exercise.
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Raisman listened to the national anthem play while she stood on the podium after winning gold. "Today has been a dream come true,'' said Raisman. "I'm so glad I got the medal I wanted."
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Perhaps energized by her surprise bronze on beam, Raisman's floor routine had an extra spark. It’s her strongest event, and she won it in confident fashion.
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Raisman's tumbling passes were some of the most difficult of the event. Her routine had a 6.5 degree of dofficulty and she earned a 9.1 for execution.
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shook the floor."/>

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Raisman's landings were not only secure, one was so powerful it <a href="http://www.boston.com/sports/other-sports/olympics/2012/08/07/raisman-finishes-olympics-style-with-floor-gold/SKZMO7rgeauMQ3tD2gFPQL/story.html">shook the floor</a>.
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There were still five gymnasts to go after Raisman's routine, but none came close to her execution.
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Coach Mihai Brestyan was hopping up and down and pumping his fist as she finished, and even Raisman was impressed with herself, mouthing "wow" after she saluted the judges at the end of her routine.
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When her score, a 15.6, was posted, teammate McKayla Maroney yelled "whoa!" so loudly from the stands it could be heard across the arena.
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"It was the best routine I've ever done," Raisman said of her floor exercise. "My coach said it was the best routine he'd ever seen me do."
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Silver medalist Lu Sui of China, gold medalist Linlin Deng of China, and bronze medalist Raisman posed on the podium during the medal ceremony for the balance beam competition.
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Raisman initially finished fourth with a score of 14.966 on the balance beam. But she questioned it, and judges added an extra tenth to her routine's difficulty after a review.
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The judges gave Raisman and Catalina Ponor identical scores of 15.066 on the beam.
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REUTERS

China's Deng Linlin, Raisman, and China's Sui Lu waited for the result of the women's gymnastics balance beam final.
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Raisman got the bronze on the beam because her execution score was higher, a 6.5 degree of difficulty.
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"I'm trying to be positive about it," Raisman said after losing the bronze medal in a tie for third in the all-around competition earlier last week.
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Despite a smooth routine with just one wobble, a hop on a dismount, Raisman's initial score of 14.946 in today’s beam routine put her a fraction of a point behind Catalina Ponor and apparently off the podium.
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As the crowd booed, seemingly recognizing that she had been misjudged, her coach filed an immediate appeal, requesting a review of her score.
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When her new score was announced, and it became clear she would finally earn a medal, the crowd roared.
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told the Boston Globe. “Needham has really gotten behind her and supported her. I’m hugely impressed at her ability to keep it together under national pressure.”"/>

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“The idea of a hometown girl making the Olympics is huge,” Maureen Fitzgerald, co-owner of Taylor's Stationary on Highland Avenue in Needham, <a href="http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/needham/2012/08/needham_holds_its_breath_as_ra.html">told the Boston Globe</a>. “Needham has really gotten behind her and supported her. I’m hugely impressed at her ability to keep it together under national pressure.”
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